Saturday thought: Expansive Love

My work and travel involves a lot of hotel stays. And I’m always glad when there’s green space to hang out in rather than the hotel! This morning while soaking up the warm, Midwestern sun, this thought came to me:

“Freely you have been loved. Freely love!” It’s a twist on the Bible directive about giving. It came to thought after a breakfast with a server who clearly loved her work. She was friendly, self-effacing, and when someone spilled cream all over their table, she smoothed it over with a quip about motherhood and her own messiness. When I asked her if she loved her work, she said she loves people. It genuinely showed.

This was contrasted with a Facebook post a friend posted this morning of a guy being hit by a car in China, and no one coming to his aid as he laid in the street, cars, bikes and buses passing next to the motionless figure. In the comments someone said that good Samaritans in China hesitate because recent cases have blamed them for the accident, and according to law, the perpetrator is responsible for the person’s health care the rest of their life.

So the idea that came about loving expansively says to me: don’t be afraid to love. Whatever laws, customs or differences try to divide us, transcend them to reach out to someone and love them, like my server Jamie did today with every table she talked with. Freely love with the divine Love whose source is in God!